Feinstein says 1.6 million Californians would lose insurance next year and no amount of tinkering can make it a good measure.

"This is a bad plan through and through and through,” she says. “There aren't one or two amendments that can fix it. So it's got to be defeated."

Harris says the bill would hit children, seniors and other vulnerable populations the hardest.

"And frankly it's no wonder that they did it in secret, because they have nothing to be proud of,” she says. “The reality is that it is as bad, in some cases worse, than the House bill that even Trump called 'mean.'"

Later in the day, Republican leaders announced they are postponing a vote on the bill until after Congress returns from the Fourth of July recess.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says the bill would make health insurance more affordable while preserving access to care for people with preexisting conditions.

Some conservative Republicans have voiced concerns that this bill does not go far enough to undo Obamacare, while moderates fear its cuts to Medicaid are too drastic.

If more than two Republicans vote against the measure, it will fail.

Brown says he hopes it doesn’t pass and then California can move forward.

“We've got to kill it and then after that, if there's the will, we can look at ways to improve our health care system," he says.

Sally Schilling is a Davis native and a graduate of the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. She has reported on redwood poachers robbing national forests in Humboldt County and the dangers of melting tropical glaciers in the Peruvian Andes. Read Full Bio